Sheena and the Jewel of Life
by AmyDonovan525
Summary: What if Ash and friends were never in the movie Arceus and the Jewel of Life? Watch 20-year-old Sheena as she meets Damos, faces off against evil genius Marcus, transcends her own limits, and learns what it means to assert herself and finally be happy.
1. Judgment Day

Sheena and the Jewel of Life

Chapter 1: Judgment Day

**Author's note: Anything in brackets like [] indicates Pokémon speech that's being translated. Only Damos and Sheena (and Sheena's entire family) can understand it.**

_"Return thus to Arceus, the Jewel of Life. Placate his rage, lest destruction visit this land."_

Such an inscription written in Greek letters hung on the wall in front of her bed as she woke up. She glared at it. _Who gives a yippee-ki-yay?_

For her, this was yet another same exact boring day as the one before that, and the one before that, and the one before that too. Bright sunlight filtered into the room, hitting her eyes at the exact same time every day. Who needs alarm clocks when you have the sun's blinding rays?

Twenty-year-old Sheena grudgingly rolled out of bed and proceeded to prepare herself for the same job she had every day of her life since she was sixteen: As a guardian of the Michina Ruins, she had to keep bad people out and entertain the tourists with the story of the legend of Arceus, the Lord of Everything and Everyone. It was depressing, really. She already knew the whole thing by heart, but recited it anyway. This was how it went:

"When it appeared that a meteor storm would destroy the world, Arceus sacrificed himself to fend it off. He always carried the sixteen life plates to counter all possible attacks, but lost them in the collision, making his death a near certainty. Then he was saved by a man named Damos, who returned the life plates for him. Back then, Michina was little more than a wasteland, but when Arceus saw this, he was overcome with pity. He used the life plates of ground, water, grass, electricity, and dragon to create the Jewel of Life. Even when it meant his life was in grave danger, Arceus entrusted it to Damos. Damos used it to turn Michina into fertile paradise. And then came the day Damos was to return it…the day the moon covered the sun. However…he broke his promise. Instead of returning it, he attacked Arceus, all because he believed that if he did, Michina would go back to being a wasteland. Feeling betrayed, Arceus destroyed the shrine, and in order to heal his injuries, he went into a long sleep."

For over 2,000 years, her family protected the Jewel of Life on the off-chance that Arceus would actually awaken and start destroying all of humanity. Damos dared to defy the most powerful Pokémon in the universe. The one who can create whole worlds. Smart. Just smart. Sheena scowled at how such an ancient person's actions were ruining her life. _I swear, if it were possible to meet the guy, I'd give him a piece of my mind and…_

Though Arceus hadn't awoken all that time, the distortions in the time-space continuum had been growing stronger and with more intensity. At Alamos Town, the legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia had a massive battle thinking each one invaded the other's dimension. And because of that battle, the Distortion World became so polluted that its only resident Giratina kept pursuing Dialga to punish him. Sheena worried that all that fighting just might accelerate Arceus' awakening. Either that or, to make matters worse, Arceus' awakening might've actually caused the incidents in the first place. None of these helped Sheena's confidence. On one hand, she wished he would awaken faster so that she could finally get rid of this dead-end job. On the other, she dreaded being the first and only family member to give the Jewel of Life back.

But she had no choice. Out of all the aunts, uncles, siblings, grandparents, cousins, and even little nephews and nieces in her family, her power—to connect with the hearts of Pokémon—by far sucked the most. This would often get a laugh at the dinner table—"She can't even connect when they're **angry?** What a disgrace!" they'd guffaw something to that effect. As a result, everyone nominated her to be the official guardian for the rest of her life. It was an afterthought "just in case" type of job that barely paid above minimum wage, as everyone else's stronger powers were needed for such jobs as translation services, rehab for dispassionate trainers and their scarred Pokémon, etc. As she brushed her light brown hair, tied it into three buns, attached some crystal earrings to her ears, and examined her official blue-white-and-black-schemed "uniform" in the tall, long mirror, she thought, _At least I got to choose what I wanted to wear._

She quietly ate her official breakfast, consisting of hot tea, pancakes, etc., in the crowded kitchen. Her whole family was there, animatedly chatting about their super-special high-paying jobs and/or plans for the day. They preferred not to think about how Arceus could one day show up to smite them all, leaving it for Sheena to worry about. Finally, she finished. "Farewell, Mother, Father," she said, using the formal tone of voice they officially trained her in.

"Remember the importance of your job, Sheena," said Mother. Father walked up, patted her on the back, and said, smiling reassuringly, "Now go bring honor to our family."

_Honor, huh? Yeah, right_, she thought.

Michina Town. Still as fertile and peaceful as the day Damos used the Jewel of Life. With bright blue skies, clear rivers, and lush green plant life, it was truly a paradise to behold. The kids chased each other, playing games such as Tag and Manhunt with their Pokémon. Sheena stopped in the middle of the bridge and leaned on the railing, taking in a deep breath of fresh air and looking to the giant mountain in the center of town that was the Michina Ruins.

"Sheena!"

"Kevin!" She smiled. Of all the tedious, everyday routines she had to endure, walking with Kevin to the ruins was the only thing she looked forward to each day. Twenty-year-old Kevin, with blond hair and an official blue-and-white uniform with six buttons on his coat, came running.

"Hey, Sheena…" he gasped, a bit winding from running all that time, but practically jumping up and down with excitement, holding up a piece of paper, "Guess what? Guess what? Yesterday, I got some eyewitness accounts from those places we went to! This is from some people named Alice and Tonio. Listen to this…"

It has always been this way. Sheena and Kevin have been best friends for as long as they can remember. As she listened, she could tell that in a way, Kevin hadn't quite lost his childish excitement, and she also knew that he only ever talked that freely around her. But what amazed Sheena even more was his decision to join her as a guardian of the Michina Ruins when they both turned sixteen. _How could he throw away his life to help me in this sacredly important yet still such a dead-end job?_ He said he "just wanted to do it", but she guessed she'd never know if there were any other reasons. As they walked, she remembered the innocent days when she and Kevin would run around the town, swinging around trees, playing with the other Pokémon, and generally having unbridled fun. _Ah, those were the days._

Finally, they reached the mountain. The entrance was still a long way off, though. They stopped by a lake at the mountain's base, all sparkling clear and full of life. Passing around the lake would lead them to the entrance where they needed to be.

Sheena stopped. She could feel something different about the air this time…

"Sheena?" asked Kevin. "What's wrong?"

All of a sudden, several massive typhoons erupted on the lake's surface. The sky above suddenly turned dark-red, and the typhoons swirled up to that sky like a vortex. The resulting winds were unusually strong…so strong, in fact, that it lifted Sheena into the air.

"SHEENA!" Kevin yelled. He grabbed her hand in time.

But Sheena saw the wind rip several tree branches behind Kevin…and they were heading straight towards him. "Kevin! Look out!"

Too late. They hit him—and then they were all being sucked into the sky.

As they sailed through the air, Sheena thought out loud, "Someone, anyone, HELP US!"

A bluish portal opened in thin air and out came the Temporal Pokémon, Dialga. He flew to intercept Sheena and Kevin. They landed on his diamond-embedded steel chest plate. Despite his massive height and weight, he gently brought them down back to the ground.

Kevin dragged Sheena away quickly. "D—Dialga…" he uttered in fear. He was concerned about how, despite Sheena's powers "that totally suck", these Legendary Pokémon always seemed to respond to her the most, as he observed when they tracked similar time-space distortions in Alamos Town and some faraway glacier. It was a dangerous habit for her to get into. If they get angry for any reason, she would never be able to connect, unlike the rest of her family, and, well...that wouldn't be good. Besides, her family already knew that too well, so they hired him to protect her from such accidents in the first place.

Sheena had to deliver one last word, though. She clasped her hands and said, "Dialga…Thank you."

That was why Dialga even bothered to save them at all; He knew from experience that Sheena was among the only humans who **ever** expressed gratitude to him regularly. But he also knew of what was going on lately, and thought he'd let her know just in case.

"[Arceus' power is growing_,_]" he whispered. "[Be careful, little one.]"

Sheena asked, "What do you mean—?"

The lake's surface shimmered. Giratina emerged and tackled Dialga, interrupting Sheena. He was still furious at how Dialga's battle with Palkia polluted his Distortion World and started aggressively blasting him. As if that weren't enough, a pinkish portal opened in thin air and out came Palkia, who wanted to see what all the ruckus was about. Right then, Dialga and Giratina's attacks hit him at the same time. Uh-oh…

Sheena chanted the classic incantation, "Now transcend…the confines of time and space!" This was her chance to see if she could surpass her own limitations and prove that she was worthy of a better job than just entertaining tourists. She tried to connect with all three of their hearts at once to calm them down, but she received a massive red wave of rage instead. The shockwave broke her connection and launched her back into the trees. "I…I can't—"

"Sheena, stop!" shouted Kevin. He found her and started dragging her to the ruins' entrance. "We have to get to the Time-Space Axis **now!**" They ran through the torch-lit hallways as fast as they could, leaving the three-way battle behind. They could feel rumbling reverberating through the hallways as the Legendary Pokémon exchanged blows. Finally, they reached the room where they would normally be entertaining tourists. Conveniently, there were no tourists that day. They reached the Time-Space Axis, caught their breaths, and proceeded to analyze the convoluted contraption.

The orbs representing Dialga's, Palkia's, and Giratina's dimensions were clashing like crazy. Sparks flew in Kevin's and Sheena's eyes, making it hard to see what they really wanted to see: The red orb in the center representing Arceus' dimension. And then they heard the deep dinging sound.

They nodded at each other. They knew what it meant: All that battling rattled Arceus' dimension too much. He was awakening.

Sheena's heart pounded wildly as she picked up the flower-like container with the Jewel of Life in it. Arceus was awakening. Arceus was **awakening!** For over 2,000 years her family had kept the jewel safe just for this time. This day, which seemed so boring at first, suddenly became a matter of life-or-death, and Mother's words took on a powerful new meaning. She couldn't blow it now.

Meanwhile, everyone in town had stopped what they were doing to look at the intense battle happening around the ruins. Sheena's ridiculously large family all made their way to the ruins, being careful not to get too close. Dark thunderclouds quickly covered the bright blue sky, giving the town an ominous cover. Just then a portal opened high in the air. Glowing rainbow-colored tentacles emitted from it, and out came the most powerful legendary godlike Pokémon ever: Arceus, the Lord of Everything and Everyone…and he was out for vengeance. "The time has come!" he said. "You humans shall pay for what you did to me! JUDGMENT!"

Hundreds of red lights emitted in an arc from the glowing orb over his forehead. They launched into the sky and rained down upon Michina Town, destroying forests, fields, and most distressingly, buildings. People and Pokémon screamed and ran away, while Sheena's family desperately wondered where the heck she was. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina suddenly stopped fighting with each other. Arceus charged up for another round of Judgment. Everything Sheena ever knew and loved would be demolished in a matter of seconds if the attack kept up.

"ARCEUS! WAIT!" shouted Sheena.

Arceus noticed a familiar aura and cancelled his attack. "Damos?" he wondered.

Sheena emerged from the ruins' other exit, carrying the container, gasping from breath. Kevin was right behind her, ready to step in if things went wrong. Arceus realized that who he thought was Damos clearly wasn't Damos, but someone related. "Who are you?" he asked, flying in closer.

She had to catch her breath a few times before saying everything she was supposed to remember. "I…I am a descendant of Damos, and I know he did something terrible to you. Please forgive us."

By now, her whole family had gotten close enough to see Sheena and Arceus. Even Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina sat down and watched. "That's it, Sheena…" whispered Father. "Just like we taught you…"

"What if this goes wrong?" asked Mother.

"...Don't even think about it. Have some faith in her, okay dear?" he reassured.

Sheena held up the flowery container. As it opened, she said, "This is the Jewel of Life!"

"WHAT?" Arceus cut in.

But Sheena was on a roll. Thinking little of the distraction, she set it down on a nearby rock and said, in her most sincere voice, "Here! I humbly return it to you. My family has been protecting it all this time so that one day we might present it to you."

She stepped back as he floated down to her level. Her family let out a sigh of relief. She did it. They finally gave it back to Arceus. All would be forgiven, and they would never have to put Sheena or anyone else through this burden again.

Arceus examined the jewel for two seconds. Ten. Then all of a sudden, he reared back his head and said, "You're saying THIS is the Jewel of LIFE?" He head-smashed it.

Sheena could only stare in horror, petrified, as the jewel's particles shattered, almost as if it was in slow motion. It was like Arceus smashed everything her life stood for, too.

"The Jewel of Life is a part of me. It cannot, and will not BREAK!" He shot a Flamethrower at her.

Kevin was quick enough to snatch Sheena out of the way in time. But Sheena's mind remained stone-still as the gravity of the situation overtook her: That was her one and only chance to appease the most powerful godlike Pokémon that ever lived.

And she blew it.

And her whole family knew it.

To be continued…


	2. Into the Past

Sheena and the Jewel of Life

Chapter 2: Into the Past

_A forgery? I don't understand! WHY?_

Kevin continued to drag Sheena along, who was still petrified with shock. They ran as fast as they could, but Arceus caught up to them in a matter of seconds. Right when they were about to duck back into the ruins, Arceus unleashed another Flamethrower that made a nearby column collapse—blocking the entrance.

"NO!" shouted Kevin.

Sheena finally seemed to snap out of it. She turned to face Arceus and shouted, "Arceus, wait! I **swear** I had no idea it was a fake. Please believe me! **Please!**" She then tried to connect with Arceus' heart as a last-ditch effort. _Now transcend…the confines of time and space!_

It did no good. He was wrathful beyond help. The biggest shockwave of fury washed over her and launched her straight into the rubble.

"I won't let humanity deceive me any more! YOU shall be brought to justice!" he shouted. He charged up another Judgment attack and this time, all the beams aimed right at her. Not even Kevin could pry her out in time.

Just then, Dialga and Palkia flew right in front of Sheena, and with their force fields, took the blasts. "[She's telling the truth!]", shouted Dialga. Palkia added in, "[Yeah, what do you have against her, anyway!]"

"Are you siding with the humans?" Arceus growled. He shot another Flamethrower at them, which they promptly shielded themselves from. Meanwhile, Giratina tried to sneak in a Shadow Force of his own, but to no avail. Arceus simply activated his Ghost Plate, matching his color scheme with that of the attack, and absorbed it harmlessly. Luckily, it was enough time for Kevin to finally pull Sheena out of the rubble.

"What do we do?" asked Sheena.

Kevin answered, "We can't give up! The real one has to be around here somewhere!" They started running around the ruins.

Palkia, seeing that none of his attacks would do any good, tried a different tactic: He shot a translucent beam that trapped Arceus in an orb of distorted space. And it seemed to be working: Arceus couldn't escape no matter how hard he head-smashed it. "Not even magical creatures can be forgiven for siding with human beings!" he continued to rant.

Sheena and Kevin momentarily wondered why Arceus called Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina "magical creatures" but had to cast that thought out of their heads in order to keep on searching through the ruins.

Then Dialga said something that made Sheena stop in her tracks. "[You two shall never find it in time…at least, not before Arceus destroys your whole town.]"

"Then what are we supposed to do, Dialga?" Sheena asked, dismayed.

Kevin knew better than to butt in. He knew that Sheena and her family could understand Pokémon language way better than everyone else in town—especially better than him. Though he didn't have a clue as to what Dialga was saying, he figured he'd better shut up and just use the context clues.

"[I can send you into the past…to the day of the promise]", he said. "[Perhaps you can learn the truth and find where the real Jewel of Life went.]"

"Can you really do that?" whispered Sheena, not quite believing her good fortune.

"[Absolutely.]"

Dialga's eyes glowed. Sheena and Kevin suddenly realized that they were levitating a few inches off the ground. _To heck with context clues, _thought Kevin and asked, "H—h—hey, Sheena? What'd you ask Dialga to do?"

"He said he would send us into the past!"

"WHAT?"

"[Good luck, little ones.]"

With a mighty roar, Dialga released his charged-up energy. Sheena and Kevin disappeared from where they were standing…and found themselves in the time tunnel, an odd blue space peppered with hundreds of shooting white lights flying by. It's almost like they were flying through space at hyperspeed. Only it wasn't space. It was time. 2,000 years of time.

In the present, Sheena's family couldn't believe their eyes.

A blinding light enveloped Sheena and Kevin. The next thing they knew, they were in the middle of an agora surrounded by marble buildings held up by columns. To their immediate left, they could see the Michina Ruins, except for one major difference: The entire place looked brand-new. It was nighttime. Well, not quite.

"I think I know where we are…" Kevin trailed off.

"It's a solar eclipse. Then this must be…the day of the fated promise with Arceus!" concluded Sheena.

As if on cue, the tentacle-lined portal opened up in the sky right underneath the moon covering the sun. Arceus had arrived. Slowing down to in front of the ruins, he announced, "It is time to return the Jewel of Life."

A man in his 40's with dark-brown hair emerged from the ruin's entrance, holding a long purple staff. He had a medallion around his neck and wore what looked like a classic Greek toga; only it was shaped into an elbow-length shirt and knee-length pants. "Here is the Jewel of Life!" he replied in a deep, booming voice. He pressed a button on the staff and the top revealed the jewel. "I welcome you inside."

Arceus followed the man inside, passing the torches on both sides. Kevin and Sheena quickly ran inside through a side entrance to get a view of the circular room the man and Arceus were entering. The man placed the jewel in a familiar flowery container on a stone platform at the edge of the circular room. "There. Now take it!" he ordered.

All of a sudden, a huge swarm of Pokémon on the two floors above shot their combined Thunderbolts at Arceus. "AAAAAH!" he shouted in agony. "Wha—what are you doing?"

Sheena and Kevin gasped in horror as they stared at the treachery. "That must be Damos," concluded Kevin. "That's right," said Sheena. "The Time-Space Axis showed this. Damos never gave it back. Instead, he betrayed Arceus!" _And __Arceus lost the Electric Plate, so no wonder Damos would use Electric attacks!_

A drawbridge lowered for Damos to cross the surrounding pit to the hallways carved into the massive cave. He waved an arm, and another man with red hair, a golden crown, a red toga, and lots of bandages on his arms, far away, made a similar motion. A massive metal chain collapsed on Arceus, sending more rocks tumbling down on him. After the deluge, he staggered to the Jewel of Life and asked, "C—can it be…?"

By now, Damos had joined the man in the red toga who never seemed to speak. "No! I could never give you the real one. It's right here." He pressed the button on the purple staff—and there it was, still there.

Sheena gasped. So **that** was why the "Jewel of Life" her family had was a fake.

"Y—you FOOL!" shouted Arceus, to no avail. More Thunderbolts zapped him before the rest of the boulders buried him.

"Michina will flourish…forevermore! And NEVER will it turn into a wasteland!" announced Damos like some kind of finality. _So that really WAS his reason…_ thought Kevin. He and Sheena already knew the story by heart, but seeing it actually happen drove it home like never before. _All this just to prevent Michina from drying up. But still…betraying a god? Isn't that beyond suicide?_

As if answering Kevin's concern, Arceus blew all the boulders off himself in a whirlwind. "You have betrayed me…" he growled. "I shall never trust humans again! NEVER!" He shot a blast of Judgment and several Flamethrowers around the whole chamber. All the Thunderbolt-wielding Pokémon ran away. Damos and the other man tried to run away, but the ground crumbled before they could even take one step. They fell into the bottom of the pit, along with the staff. "There it is!" shouted Kevin. "The real one fell down there. If we can get over there in **our** time, we can—"

All of a sudden, the ground beneath him and Sheena started shaking too. "Wait. This isn't a vision? We're actually IN—? Let's get out of here!" Kevin spoke too late. The ground collapsed underneath them too. They fell.

"Dialga!" shouted Sheena. "Get us out of here, somewhere, anywhere!" They held on to each other, preparing for their crushing splat.

It never came.

Instead, the next thing they knew, they were in another agora facing a grassy hill. It was daytime.

"[Take this, intruders! Flamethrower!]"

They barely dodged a Flamethrower coming from a Heatran. Seconds later, they were completely surrounded by Greek-like soldiers, a menacing Bronzong…and that same guy in the red toga.

"Master Marcus! Strange people just came out of nowhere!" shouted one of the guards. Sheena suddenly realized that they were in ancient Michina, which was very much like ancient Greece in the sense of the buildings, the superstitions, the weird restraining devices on the Heatran and Bronzong, the guards' outfits…and the fact that only men seemed to be outside. No wonder they were considered strange. Whoops.

"Let me handle this," said Marcus. "Bronzong, Hypnosis!"

"No, wait! We're from the future! We need to tell you—" Sheena got no farther than that. Bronzong was quick, efficient, and had the attack going within half a second. Obviously, he was used to using it on people. While everyone else heard, "ZONG…ZONG…ZONG…", Sheena heard, "[You are getting sleepy…sleepy…sleeeeepy…]"

The last thing Sheena and Kevin realized was the fact that they've never owned any Pokémon before. They also started to regret never even learning how to use Pokémon, as it probably would've really helped them out in this circumstance…and that was the last thing they thought before their consciousnesses blanked out.

To be continued…


	3. Nothing But the Truth

Sheena and the Jewel of Life

Chapter 3: The Truth, the Full Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

Meanwhile, a Pichu with an extra three spikes on her left ear was watching the whole thing from afar. She always hated how Marcus hypnotized and threw every single newcomer in prison. She also got a feeling that the two people he captured were somehow really important. After all, the outfits they wore were nothing like what everyone else wore. And one of them was a woman! This must be massive. Women usually weren't allowed outside. Pichu made up her mind. Time to begin Operation: Save the New People!

SLAM!

Sheena and Kevin suddenly found themselves in a jail. A jail? "HEY! Where are we?" shouted Kevin.

"Now what do we have here?" It was an elderly man, wearing the same armor as those guards, only his face seemed a lot more benevolent than all the others'. "You see, you're in the underground prison, and one of Master Marcus' magical creatures just used Hypnosis on you."

"Magical creatures?" asked Kevin.

"That's what they called Pokémon back then," answered Sheena. "If you didn't fall asleep so much in history class, you'd remember that." _Besides, Arceus used those words too._

But something else bothered Kevin. He asked the guard, "You called this Marcus guy 'Master', right? Who IS he, anyway?"

"The backstabber," someone answered darkly.

Sheena and Kevin turned. Sitting on a rock bench at the back of the cell…was Damos. "You see, Marcus was an underling of mine, but he tricked me and threw me in jail."

"DAMOS!" they shouted at the same time.

"Wait. You know me? But how—?"

"I want to know why you won't give the Jewel of Life back to Arceus!" shouted Kevin.

"Hold on! What are you talking about? I am doing nothing of the sort!"

Suddenly, something in Sheena totally snapped. "You **LIAR!** If it weren't for **YOU,** Arceus wouldn't be so freaking **incorrigible**, my hometown wouldn't be destroyed, my family and friends wouldn't be in danger, and I wouldn't have been **HUMILIATED** in front of Arceus and everyone and my family! Speaking of my family, if it weren't for **YOU,** my family wouldn't have had to do this **STUPID **job for 2,000 years protecting the Jewel of Life to give back to Arceus just to atone for **YOUR **boneheaded actions! And Kevin and I wouldn't **BE** here, **risking our lives** just to find the truth, **STUCK** in this miserable excuse of a **dung-heap** just because they don't allow women OUTSIDE in this primitive excuse for a society!"

Damos, Kevin, and the elderly guard just stared at Sheena, totally silent with shock, shaking with fear. For as long as Kevin knew Sheena, he never saw her as furious or uncontrolled as this before. She always kept her cool and spoke formally. She never insulted anyone or anything before. For her to suddenly explode like this…it was like seeing someone else take over her. Someone like Arceus. He had no idea that she held this powerful a grudge on Damos for this long. He figured that just seeing him at last made her totally lose control.

As for Damos and the guard, they've just never seen a woman act so furious and unladylike before. The guard shuddered as he remembered what his wife was capable of, and Damos silently swore never to get married, ever.

But Sheena wasn't quite finished yet. "Do you get it? Do you **GET IT?** Do you **GET **what you just **DID?**" To conclude her rant, she swung the most powerful punch she could right at Damos' face. He blocked it just in time.

Suddenly, their powers connected with each other. Sheena realized that Damos actually was a kind and honest man, and Damos realized exactly why Sheena was so angry. When it was over, Sheena calmed down instantly. "You're…**not** lying," she whispered.

"You're my descendant. From the future," he uttered dumbly. He started to think twice about what he just swore.

Kevin looked back and forth between them. "Uh…okay. And…?"

Damos turned to face them both. "That's why Marcus threw me in jail. To stop me from fulfilling my promise to Arceus. And for what?"

Kevin and Sheena thought for a second. "Hey, wait a second! The Hypnosis!" realized Sheena.

"That's right!" said Kevin. "Marcus must've hypnotized Damos into betraying Arceus back there!"

"So **that's **what he's planning..." growled Damos.

The guard cut in. "May I say something? I know for a fact that Damos has every intention of returning the Jewel of Life to Arceus. What I'm not sure about is whether that's the right thing to do."

"Of course that's the right thing to do!" explained Sheena. "If you keep taking care of the land, it'll stay fertile. Just remember not to plow too hard, and always plant trees around the soil to reduce erosion. It also helps if you plant as many different kinds of crops as possible throughout the year. That's the first lesson of environmental science. I guess you wouldn't know that..."

Obviously, neither the guard nor Damos knew it. Damos ran right up to the guard, and they began animatedly discussing the new insights they received from Sheena, especially about how to keep the land fertile. Kevin continued to stare incredulously at her.

"You remembered that from **environmental science?**" he whispered in awe.

"Don't tell me you fell asleep during that class too…" she grumbled.

Soon enough, Damos and the guard stopped asking Sheena any more environmental science questions. Now that his head stopped spinning from all those revelations, he got back to the subject. "So you're saying that in the future, I betray Arceus?" asked Damos.

"That's right," said Kevin. "I don't know how to say this, but…our legends viewed you as an evil man."

"As if I could ever betray Arceus…" he sighed. "Arceus…who saved us all…"

For the next half-hour, he regaled Sheena and Kevin with his full story. Meteors fell from the sky one night, and right when the biggest one of all would demolish Michina, Arceus appeared out of nowhere and stopped it. But the impact scattered all sixteen of Arceus's life plates. Damos also explained how he brought each of the life plates one by one back to Arceus and saved his life. But the meteor strikes destroyed that year's food harvests and turned Michina into a barren wasteland. If nothing was done, everyone in Michina would die. Arceus, feeling sorry for this, agree to give up five of his life plates to make the Jewel of Life for Damos to use to make the land fertile again. This meant that Arceus was then vulnerable to Grass, Water, Ground, Electric, and Dragon-type attacks, endangering his life, so he made a promise with Damos to return the jewel on the day of the next solar eclipse. Over the next few years, Damos used the jewel's power whenever he could, and the land did become fertile again. Massive harvests grew, the people began eating better and living longer, and everyone was happier too. They all treated Damos like a hero. Every year Arceus would check to see how things were going, and every time, Damos promised to give it back on the day of the solar eclipse. Finally, Damos and everyone constructed a shrine for Arceus to show their enormous and eternal gratitude for him, which their jail cell happened to be underneath.

Sheena and Kevin knew the whole story by heart already, so they always knew what would come next. What really enraptured them was **how** Damos told the story. He described each event in poetic, Shakespearean, he-was-there detail that the history books could never provide. By the end, it was so believable and moving that tears practically formed in their eyes.

"And today…" he concluded, "The moon will cover the sun."

They both gasped.

"TODAY?"

To be continued…


	4. Operation: Save the New People!

Sheena and the Jewel of Life

Chapter 4: Operation—Save the New People!

Spiky-eared Pichu ran through the dirt tunnels, hurriedly trying to find the keys to the cell that the two new people were locked up in. Suddenly, she smelled something really tasty…

"[...I'm hungry!]" she suddenly decided on a whim. She took a detour towards the smell.

Through a "ventilation duct", she saw a basket of Pecha and Sitrus Berries in a basket hanging right in front of her. She hopped through the opening and jumped right into the basket, stuffing her face as fast as she could before anyone saw her.

She then looked around. She was in a kitchen where two Pokémon in restraining devices were working. A Chikorita stood on the counter, carrying a turnip to the cutting board, while a Cyndaquil was on the ground, keeping the oven burning. And in between them was a young guard in his twenties watching over both of them.

Chikorita was clearly tired, and tried to rest, but the guard elbowed her and said, "Quit dillydallying." She quickly sliced the turnip and scooped it into the basket. Cyndaquil tired out too, but the guard slammed his staff and said, "No goofing off." So Cyndaquil shot more fire at the furnace.

Pichu scowled. Even if they've mostly done away with capital punishment, she still hated how they treated Pokémon. And she really hated those infernal restraining devices. Since Marcus invented them, she really wished she could get back at him for this outrage one day. After all, young Pokémon don't deserve to be restrained. They're supposed to be free to run around, as that's the only way they'll be grow up to be healthy. _And I should know—I __**am**__ one!_

She jumped down from the basket and growled, sparks emitting from her cheeks. But when the guy turned around and panicked, she saw that she didn't even need to let loose a Volt Tackle.

"AAH! G—go away! Stay back! What do you want?" he stammered, backing off towards the wall. Pichu dropped her electric charge and said, "[Look out, Mister!]" pointing at the plate above him. No such luck. He crashed into the wall, knocking the plate over, which hit him on the head with a loud comically sounding DONG! He fainted.

"[...Doofus,]" said Pichu, smacking her face. She then turned to Cyndaquil and said, "[Hey, Cyndaquil! Want me to help you out with that?]"

"[What do you mean?]" he asked.

"[Stand still for a bit…Okay…Iron Tail!]" She smacked her tail against the restraining device—and it broke! Cyndaquil stretched his muscles. "[Aaah…yes! I can MOVE! Thanks, Pichu!]"

"[H—hey…What about me?]" asked Chikorita.

"[Coming!]" replied Pichu. She climbed up to the counter and prepared her attack. Chikorita winced as she prepared for the blow. "[Iron Tail!]" It didn't hurt. The restraining device came off, and Chikorita could stretch again. "[Thanks! But, Pichu…What are you doing here?]"

"[Oh, right! I'm in the middle of Operation: Save the New People. Wanna help me? I'll explain on the way,]" said Pichu.

Chikorita and Cyndaquil enthusiastically agreed. As they ran out the door into the hallway, the guard woke up and exclaimed, "H—hey, wait!" Just to make sure he wouldn't follow them, Pichu jumped right in his face and made all sorts of funny faces. "[Ooogabooga! Ooogabooga!]" The guard fainted again.

Pichu, Chikorita, and Cyndaquil ran across the ceiling beams over several rooms in the place, including a room where several vats of silvery liquid were being mixed. Finally, Pichu found the room where the jail key was hanging. "[Okay, Chikorita! Since you're bigger than all of us, lower us down to that key.]" ordered Pichu. Chikorita's Vine Whip wrapped around Cyndaquil's legs, and he held onto Pichu's tail. But right as she reached the key, the room's door opened! They gasped.

"[Hey! Fellow Pokémon! What'r y'all doin' up there?]"

It was a Totodile.

"[Uh…]" Pichu wasn't sure what to say.

"[Oh, I see. I see. Lemme help y'all out.]" He took a deep breath.

Cyndaquil got a sinking feeling. "[Hey! HEY! Wait wait wait! No no no no no—]

Too late. Totodile let loose his Water Gun at the key and all over them. Pichu and Cyndaquil fell to the ground, and because the blast made Chikorita lose her balance, she fell down on top of them both.

"[OWOWOWOWOWOW! Too…heavy!]" Cyndaquil's back flared up and burned Pichu and Chikorita. Chikorita's leaf caught on fire and she ran around, screaming, "[Put it out put it out put it out put in out!]" Totodile shot a water gun at the leaf, putting it out, but the blast was so big, it also hit Cyndaquil. "[THAT'S IT!]" he fumed, blowing a Flamethrower at Totodile. The three of them started fighting.

"[All of you SHUT UP!]" shouted Pichu, shooting a Thunderbolt in the middle of them. "[Now are you gonna help me with Operation: Save the New People or make so much racket they catch us? Huh? HUH?]"

Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile suddenly realized how stupid they must've looked. "[Eheheheh…Sorry.]"

"So how are we supposed to get out of here?" Sheena desperately asked.

As if to answer her question, a piece of flooring started to move. Pichu popped out with the key around her spiked ear. "[DAMOS!]" Oh boy, was she glad to see her best friend again. She ran right up his arm and sat on his shoulder so he could retrieve the key. "Pichu! Thanks so much!" he said. One by one, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile popped out of the hole, too. She pointed to them and said, "[They helped me!]"

"[So exactly WHO are these new people—Oh.]" Chikorita stopped when she saw Sheena and Kevin and their weird outfits.

"[That's them, guys. Hi, new people!]" Pichu waved.

Damos said, "Oh yeah. I never got your names. Actually, I think yours is…Sheena, right?"

"Right."

"My name's Kevin."

"Are you another descendant of mine?" asked Damos.

"No, actually, I'm her friend," he said, pointing to Sheena.

As Damos inserted the key and turned it, Cyndaquil and Pichu gave mischievous glances at Sheena and Kevin. "[**Just **a friend? Reeeeaally?] asked Cyndaquil. "[Ooo, ooo, I know, I know!]" said Pichu. She took a deep breath and sang:

"[Sheena and Kevin, sitting in a tree!]"

"[K-I-S-S-I-N-G!]" chimed in Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile.

"[First comes love, then comes—]"

"Hey, shut up!" Flustered, Sheena slapped Pichu's mouth before she could stop herself. "What? What'd they say?" asked Kevin. Damos just patted him on the back and said, "Children. They just love having fun. Don't worry about it, okay?" He opened the cell door.

With that permission granted, Pichu continued on, eager to outdo herself. "[Sheena and Damos, sitting in a tree!]"

"[K-I-S-S-]"

Sheena covered her ears. Right when it looked like she was going to throw up again, Damos intervened. "You **do** know that she **is** my descendant, right?" he remarked as naturally as if he were commenting on the weather.

They stopped.

"[...EEEEWWWW!]" Coughing, all four of them were trying their best to convulse and throw up. They resolved never to sing silly songs again without actually ascertaining said party members' relationships. Damos turned to Sheena and said proudly, "And** that** is how it's done."

Sheena smiled. _So that's_ _how I should deal with my niece if she ever tries one of those on me!_

Kevin had no idea what they were singing, but judging by how he never seen Sheena so flustered before, he figured that it was something embarrassing he'd be better off not knowing. The three of them filed out of the cell right past the guard. Damos whispered, "Don't tell Marcus, okay?" while throwing him the key. The guard nodded.

So in the end, Operation: Save the New People was a smashing success! Too bad that Pichu and friends were temporarily knocked out of commission.

They ran through the dirt hallways desperately trying to reach the altar before the moon covered the sun. They went through turn after turn after turn…and suddenly found Marcus standing in the middle of the hallway, with his Heatran and Bronzong, right in front of them.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?"

The three of them gasped and ground to a screeching halt. They just remembered.

Wasn't Marcus coming down to hypnotize Damos?

To be continued…


	5. The Same Mistake Twice

Sheena and the Jewel of Life

Chapter 5: The Same Mistake Twice

Sheena, Kevin, and Damos glared at Marcus, Heatran, and Bronzong, who were blocking the hallway. "You prisoners need to be taught a lesson," said Marcus, snapping his fingers.

Three people against one person and two very powerful Pokémon: The odds were clearly against Sheena's group, as they had no Pokémon with them at the moment, and any Pokémon allies they could've had were currently back at the jail cell, still knocked out. Kevin hesitated, stuck between protecting Sheena and having them all run back the way they came. But Damos and Sheena were prepared for situations like these. Immediately they clasped their hands and chanted, "Now transcend, the confines of time and space!"

Unfortunately, it came several seconds too late. At Marcus' snap, Heatran pounced on Damos and Bronzong's psychic power pinned Sheena to the wall. "Do you really think I'd let you two use your **voodoo powers** on my magical creatures?"

Sheena's heart skipped a beat. _He knows about my powers too?_

Outraged, Kevin kicked Bronzong in the face so hard the psychic power released Sheena. He then smacked Marcus in the jaw and wrenched the purple staff away. Marcus crumpled to the ground. The next thing Kevin knew, Heatran pounced and pinned him to the ground right next to Damos. The staff bounced out of Kevin's grasp, and Sheena quickly snatched it up, ready to use it to defend herself. But she wasn't prepared for Bronzong to sweep her aside from behind. He then hovered over Heatran, ready to hypnotize Damos and Kevin.

"Sheena!" shouted Damos. "Hurry and return it to Arceus for me!"

"Wha—no! I'm staying with her!" Kevin shouted to Damos.

Sheena hesitated. "But—but—Damos, **you** need to—"

"Don't worry about me! Just go! **The moon will cover the sun any minute now!**"

She started running. Marcus gasped, "D—Don't let—", but didn't get any farther because Sheena smacked him in the head with the staff out of sheer desperation. Really hard. As Sheena sped down the hallway out of sight, Marcus groaned and rubbed the massive bump forming on his head. _That wasn't part of the plan. Ooowww…_

Through a window, Sheena saw that the moon had already covered ¾ of the sun already. As she ran as fast as she absolutely could to the altar, a million thoughts flew through her head. Part of her really loathed leaving behind both her best friend and her ancestor who was actually a good person. But at the same time…_I have to do this! Not just for Damos, but for everything my life ever stood for. This is my only chance to make it up to Arceus, even if I end up changing history! Please don't let Marcus catch me…Please don't let Marcus catch me…_

Damos and Kevin woke up to find themselves in metal chains strapped to a stone wall. Marcus was standing right in front of them with an evil smile, and a Manectric was to his right, wearing a restraining device and a metal wire around his head. The wire led from his headpiece to…Damos and Kevin's chains. Uh-oh.

"Wha—where are we…?" asked Kevin.

"My own specially designed torture chamber. You're welcome," Marcus pointed at the Manectric.

Kevin was absolutely stunned. _They used electrocution as a torture method back then?_ Marcus chuckled and added as a matter of fact, "Of course, it's an execution chamber too."

Despite the danger, Damos put up a brave face. "Marcus, Marcus, Marcus…your insubordination never ceases to amaze me. I don't care if you torture us or kill us. Sheena will give the Jewel of Life back to Arceus. You've already lost."

"Oh, **really?"** Marcus grinned evilly. He snapped his fingers.

Before Damos and Kevin could ask anything, Manectric blasted them with 10,000 volts of electricity. It really hurt. When the ordeal was finally over, they were gasping. Smoke sizzled from them both.

Marcus was almost out the door, where Heatran and Bronzong were waiting for him. "Unfortunately, I can't stick around. I've got…places to be." He pulled out a glowing green orb and flashed it to them.

Damos' and Kevin's faces paled. "It can't be…"

Marcus jumped on Heatran's back and sped away, with Bronzong floating behind him. Manetric blasted Kevin and Damos again, and this time, he wouldn't stop.

High in the sky, the moon completely covered the sun. The tentacle-lined portal materialized and Arceus emerged. He flew to the temple's entrance and entered. Floating high over the moat-like chamber, he announced, "It is time to return the Jewel of Life."

Sheena emerged out of an opening in the outer rock wall just in time, breathless. "My…My name is Sheena! Here is…Here's the Jewel of Life!"

"Where is Damos?" asked Arceus.

"He was gonna be here…but then…"

"Did something happen to him?"

"Yes! An underling of his…wanted to stop him…from fulfilling his promise. He let me take his place. See? I have it!" She opened the staff's top, and there it was.

"WHAT?" shouted Arceus.

Sheena stopped. Something about that shout sounded disturbingly familiar. As Arceus floated down, she backed up a bit, getting a sinking feeling that somehow, some way, she did something wrong again.

"You're saying THIS is the Jewel of LIFE?" Arceus head-smashed the jewel and the wooden platform beneath it. Sheena dropped the staff in horror and it fell into the water below as the realization of what just happened turned her stomach to lead.

She made the same mistake.

Again.

For minutes that seemed like an eternity, they endured the agony, when suddenly, it stopped. Kevin and Damos opened an eye. There didn't seem to be any more electricity coursing though the wires, but Manectric still looked like he was emitting it at full blast. So why…?

"[Energy Ball!]"

A green orb of pure nature energy from across the room struck Manectric and broke his concentration. Chikorita came swinging on a chain from the ceiling and kicked Manectric in the jaw. She started slicing at him several times with the leaf on her head, screaming, "[Bad Manectric! Bad Manectric! Bad bad bad bad bad!]" She then Body Slammed him and casually mentioned, "[Good thing I'm heavy.]"

"Chikorita? Then that means…" Damos almost forgot about the four Pokémon that rescued them from jail. Sure enough, Spiky-Eared Pichu came into his view, complaining "[Aww, man! I wanted to absorb more of his electricity!]" Damos smiled. Now he knew how the torture stopped all of a sudden. "Thanks again, Pichu!"

Pichu giggled. "[That's the second time I've had to save your butt today, Damos. Now you really owe me one.]" She quickly added, "[Just kidding.]"

Cyndaquil came and blew Flamethrowers at the chains, freeing Damos and Kevin. He hurriedly explained, "[Sorry we're so late, guys. We couldn't get over that sick comment...]" _Sheena is Damos' descendant. Urrgh..._

Meanwhile, Totodile came up to Manectric and started chewing him out, literally and figuratively.

"[But—but—but—I was just following orders!]" complained Manectric.

CHOMP! Totodile bit the restraining device off. "[Now yer not,]" he grinned. He bit Manectric again, who kept running in circles trying to get Totodile off. It was lots of fun. Not for Manectric, of course.

After Cyndaquil burned the handcuffs off of Damos and Kevin, Chikorita soothed their wounds with the best Aromatherapy she could muster. "Thanks, guys," said Kevin. "Now I've got to catch up to Sheena."

"I'll go with you," said Damos. Pichu jumped on his shoulder and said, "[Guys? Come on! We're going to save Kevin's girlfriend!]"

Three voices sounded at one. "[Kevin's **girlfriend?]"**

As Kevin and Damos led the way, Kevin marveled at how such tiny Pokémon could keep up with his long strides. Damos, who could understand what they just said, resisted the urge to slap his face. _This is going to be a long day…_

"N—no…I didn't know—"

"How could you **deceive** me like this?" he shouted, charging up a Flamethower. Sheena backed up numbly, petrified by how history was being repeated all over again. _But how? The real Jewel of Life was in that staff…wasn't it?_

Suddenly, numerous blasts of electricity zapped Arceus. Sheena snapped back to her senses. _This is exactly what happened last time too! So why…?_ The water in the moat below started to drain. She looked up and found Marcus on the same high platform, giving the orders. And he had, in his hand, the glowing green orb that was the real Jewel of Life.

"YOU…!" Anger surged through Sheena that was even stronger than with Damos. This was the guy who **really **ended up giving her family (and Damos) so much grief. And he humiliated her **again.** Before she knew it, she ran back into the hallway and up the steps to where Marcus was. He had his back to where she entered as he shouted, "Now! The silver water!"

She charged and jump-kicked him right in the back. The jewel dropped. Bronzong suddenly appeared and used his psychic power to stop Marcus' fall and launch him back toward Sheena, who let down her guard to reach for the jewel. Marcus used his new momentum to kick her and she flew straight into the wall. Bronzong's psychic energy pinned her right there.

Marcus picked the jewel back up. The crushing psychic pressure made it almost impossible to speak, but Sheena managed to let out "How…could you do this?" in the darkest voice she could muster.

He smiled and stopped right in front of her. "I'll let you in on a little secret, dear. I was upstairs listening in on **everything** you and your friend told to Damos. Normally I wouldn't do that, but when you mentioned you were from the future…let's just say, thank you very much. Remember?"

She did. Back when she and Kevin arrived before being hypnotized. "But…environmental science…"

He glared. "Do you really think I'd believe that garbage? From a **woman**? Really?"

"EXCUSE ME?" Now Sheena was absolutely furious, but she still couldn't move. In fact, the more resistance she tried, the stronger the psychic power seemed to get.

He continued to gloat, "Anyway, after I found that you knew my original plan, I revised it. A lot. So everything you did fit nicely into my NEW plan. You can very well say goodbye to your friends. Now Michina will flourish forevermore…and Arceus will never appear in the future to destroy the world! I am changing history! You can do nothing but thank me." Sheena could see the silver water flowing down in the chamber behind Marcus and could hear Arceus' blood-curdling scream as it hit him and hardened, pinning him to the chamber's floor.

"Give…it…back!" she growled.

Marcus' face hardened. "I gave you a chance to understand, but I see you really are incorrigible beyond redemption, stupid woman. Heatran!"

As Marcus backed away, Heatran took his place and started charging up a massive Fire Blast attack. Marcus said, "It looks like I'll have to humiliate you one more time. After all, I can't let any witnesses go now, can I?"

The pressure was too much for Sheena to say anything anymore. _Kevin…Damos…No! How can I get this far, only to die now, in this stupid, myopic past! Now no one will know the truth about Damos… Was this it? Was this all my life was really meant for? To never be able to make a difference at all?_

"Goodbye…Sheena."

To be continued…


	6. Fight for the Future

Sheena and the Jewel of Life

Chapter 6: Fight for the Future

"SHEENA!"

Coming up the stairs from where Sheena came from, Kevin jump-kicked Bronzong with all his might, releasing Sheena and pushing Bronzong right into the path of Heatran's Fire Blast. Ouch. Sheena gasped for breath. "Kevin?"

"You okay?"

"Y—yeah..."

Marcus staggered backwards as Damos also came into the room. Sheena never saw Kevin so enraged before. "How could you do this to her, you scumbag?" he shouted.

"Scumbag? You're the scumbags! You're supposed to be dead!" retorted Marcus. The next thing he knew, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Pichu all ran up from behind to join Kevin. "What? More magical creatures?" he exclaimed, getting more and more shocked by the second as his plans were quickly unraveling. Sheena noticed that both Kevin and Damos were (lightly) covered in electrical burns and black soot. _So that's what he means..._

Damos pulled Sheena's hand. "Come on, Sheena. We have to stop them from hurting Arceus anymore!"

"But—but—the Jewel of Life—"

Pichu started bossing her around. "[We were nice enough to save you, Kevin's girlfriend! We'll get that jewel! Now get your butt down there and help Damos! NOW!]" To top it off, she actually slammed Sheena in the back with Iron Tail. Sheena didn't need to be told twice; she ran with Damos as fast as she could.

Totodile and Chikorita teamed up to take on Heatran, while Cyndaquil and Pichu did the same for Bronzong, although it didn't take long as he already sustained massive damage from that Fire Blast. "[I…hate…fire…]" he complained as he fainted. Kevin charged straight for Damos and they started wrestling each other for the Jewel of Life.

Meanwhile, Sheena and Damos retreated a safe distance from the fighting. "Now transcend…the confines of time and space," they chanted simultaneously. They reached out to the presences of all the Pokémon in the upper levels zapping Arceus down below.

"Everyone, stop your attacks," whispered Sheena.

"Arceus risked his very life to save us all," added Damos. Soon enough, all of them understood and obeyed.

Marcus didn't realize it at the time. He was too busy fighting off Kevin. They were evenly matched. Pichu jumped up and down, shouting, "[Kevin! Hey! KEVIN! Let me at him! HEY!]" Growing impatient, she backed off to give herself a running start. As she charged, her whole body lit with electricity, and it was only then that Kevin noticed. Out of a reflex, he jolted himself away from Pichu's path.

"[Volt Tackle!]" She hit Marcus straight on. As he fell from electrocution, she used Iron Tail to smack the Jewel of Life out of his hand. "[And that's what you get for enslaving us all!]" she taunted. Giggling inside, she thought, _Yes! I've always wanted to do that!_

But no one else could celebrate. They watched the jewel bounce around, roll around the sides of a gap, and right when it was about to fall through a hole at the end, Chikorita caught it with her leaf. "[Got it!]" she celebrated. But Marcus recovered too quickly and lunged. Thanks to Kevin's quick reflexes, he grabbed Marcus' legs instantly. Marcus landed with a huge thud right next to Chikorita, and the impact made the jewel slip off her leaf and down the hole. "[NO!]" she screamed.

Without thinking, Kevin jumped off the edge after it. He grabbed onto a wooden pole jutting out of the rock wall and saw the jewel pop out of the hole above him. He caught in and held it between his shoes. Then he noticed Sheena and Damos on a ledge not far off. "Sheena! Help me out here!" he yelled.

Before Damos could argue, Sheena ran to help him. "Kevin! I'm coming!" Apparently there were several wooden platforms and wooden poles leading up from her position to Kevin's. She wouldn't ever try this on a normal day, what with the heights, precarious footing, and her own questionable sense of balance, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and thankfully, she was so focused on reaching Kevin, she never fell. Finally, she stood on the platform underneath him and shouted, "Drop it! I'm ready!"

She caught it. Kevin also dropped down next to her, and together, they jumped from platform to poles to platform all the way down to where Arceus was trapped by the hardened silver water.

Marcus finally realized that all of "his magical creatures" weren't using Thunderbolt anymore. When he saw Sheena and Kevin with the Jewel of Life jumping down to Arceus' level, he growled in frustration and tried to follow, but—surprise, surprise—Heatran and Bronzong both blocked his way. Apparently Cyndaquil and Totodile broke their restraining devices and they were also affected by Damos and Sheena's pleas. Now all six Pokémon surrounded him, ready to fight.

"Stupid…cursed…voodoo magic…" he growled, balling his fist, cursing Sheena and Damos. _When this is over, I swear I'm gonna send them all to the execution chamber._

Sheena and Kevin reached the bottom of the chamber. Arceus was covered up to his neck in hardened silver water. His eyes were completely and frighteningly red. Sheena held the jewel up. "Arceus! This is it! This is the real Jewel of Life! Here, take it!"

Several seconds passed. Nothing. "He…he can't hear us?" asked Kevin.

Suddenly, more silver water poured from above. They quickly ran to higher ground. The silver water completely submerged Arceus' head—and then, they found their bodies had become transparent. "AAAH! Wh—what is this? What's happening?" shouted Sheena.

Marcus saw it all from above. "You're disappearing. Since Arceus is no more, history has changed. Both of you would never have been born." _Dang. If only I knew this would happen, I probably wouldn't have had to go to all the trouble of killing them myself. At least I only have to deal with Damos now._

Damos jumped down to join them. "Sheena! Arceus is still alive, but we don't have much time! We have to connect with his heart before you both disappear!"

Sheena hesitated. "But…but…I can't…I tried already…"

"Give Kevin the jewel and just do it. It's our only choice." His stare was deathly serious.

"...Okay. I'll do my best."

She gave it to Kevin, who continued to hold it out in the hope that Arceus might take it. Sheena and Damos turned their attention to Arceus, held each other's hands and chanted, "Now transcend…the confines of time and space!"

The pain. The agony. The energy waves of wrath and anger. Arceus' heated emotions wracked Sheena like never before. She needed to hang on to Damos to keep from flying off, but even he had trouble standing too. But at the same time, Sheena couldn't help that there was something familiar about Arceus' feelings. Suddenly she realized what it was. It was eerily similar to her own anger. Her anger over how her life was unfairly affected by these events…her anger over her boring life and dead-end job…her anger over Marcus…her anger over how unfair the past was to women…the list went on and on. She realized that because she finally got a chance to let her pent-up anger for the first time today, she finally understood how to deal with these anger waves and how her entire family was able to handle it while she couldn't. Because they regularly expressed anger in their own lives but never allowed her to do the same, they were able to deal with anger while she couldn't. And with a surge of indignation, she realized that they chose her from the very start. They forced her to be worse than them all so they could stick her with that dead-end job. And now it was time for payback.

"Damos! We need to fight his anger with our own!"

"Let's do it! Don't stop now!"

As they pieced the intense anger sphere that surrounded Arceus, she called upon all those angers she ever had, while he fought with his grudge over being betrayed by Marcus. Sudden shockwaves washed over them without warning, but they pressed on.

Kevin found that he was vanishing from the feet up. "Hurry, guys, hurry!"

They were almost to the epicenter: Arceus' face. With one final push, they shouted, "ARCEUS!" and finally placed their hands on Arceus' head. A blinding white light emitted all around them for what seemed like an eternity. After several drawn out seconds, the flaming anger energy completely disappeared, and his eyes returned to normal. Arceus looked at them for several more seconds, finally understanding the true feelings in their hearts. "Damos…Sheena…"

"The Jewel of Life…Please take it," they said.

It floated away from Kevin's hand and split into the five life plates it once was before sinking into Arceus' body, which glowed with a magnificent golden light that lit the whole chamber. Damos and Sheena finally let go of the connection and dropped to the ground, exhausted, and Sheena and Kevin's bodies materialized again. The light cut a hole through the silver water and allowed Arceus to float out. The three of them stared in awe.

"Damos…Sheena…and who are you?"

"My name's Kevin. I'm their friend."

Suddenly, more silver water poured through, but before it could reach them, Arceus generated a force field around them and lifted them up to safety. "Are you the ones who saved my life?"

"Actually…We all did!" Sheena noticed Pichu, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile running towards her, jumping and shouting, "[You're alive! You're alive! You're alive!]" Seeing them cheer almost made her want to cheer to. _After all,_ she realized, _this was the first time I've ever been able to connect with any angry Pokémon! Ever!_

"Arceus, please forgive me," pleaded Damos. Sheena added in, "Me too."

"I already saw it in both of your hearts. It's all right." he replied. He then looked up toward where Marcus was standing and said, "A certain **someone**, on the other hand…"

Marcus, ducking out of view with disgust, leaned with heavy defeat against the wall where he was standing. "This is the end. I know it is. Michina will once again turn into a wasteland. For us, there **is **no future."

Sheena tried to remind him, "You still don't believe what I said about environmental sci—?"

Right then, as if to answer what Marcus said, more silver water flooded the place. (Jeez, how much of it did they have?) It overloaded the system, and soon, the whole place crumbled and collapsed, causing Marcus to lose his footing and fall down into the pit. But Arceus suspended everyone and everything in midair. He brought them all to safety and let out a green shockwave that broke all the Thunderbolt-using Pokémon's restraining devices.

As for Marcus, all that seemed to remain of him was the golden crown he wore.

The sun shone brightly outside again. Everyone was evacuated to safety outside of the ruins, including every single guard and the crowd of Pokémon. Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Pichu, Damos, Kevin, and Sheena all stood in the front. Arceus floated in the sky above them all. "I have used up all of my strength. So for now, I must rest. Damos…Sheena…and Kevin…Thank you, all of you, for teaching me not to judge humans before getting to know them, and that you are all good at heart. Human beings—no, all creatures, no matter how flawed they may be, deserve to live."

"Goodbye, Arceus…" whispered Sheena and Damos.

He turned around and floated into the sky, disappearing back into his own dimension. Everyone cheered. Just then, Sheena and Kevin noticed a familiar energy field materializing around themselves. They knew what that meant. "Dialga's calling. The one who sent us into the past," she explained to Damos.

"Oh…But I wanted to speak more…I guess it just wasn't meant to be," said Damos, looking resigned. On his shoulder, Pichu wailed, "[WAAAH! But I wanted to see the wedding!]"

"Pichu!" admonished Sheena, flustered.

"[Heh heh. Sorry.]"

As they started to vanish, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile ran up to them, jumping up and down and shouting, "[Goodbye, Sheena! Goodbye, Kevin! Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye!]"

After they disappeared, Damos looked to the fertile land of Michina, taking in its beauty, and remembering what Sheena taught him about how to care for the land. "The future…Wow…"

He resolved to make it a better, brighter future, one in which his new friends could finally be happy.

To be continued…


	7. Forever Free

Sheena and the Jewel of Life

Chapter 7: Forever Free

Sheena and Kevin rode through the time tunnel again, back to their own time. The next thing they knew, a huge crowd of people, including Sheena's entire family, was surrounding them.

"SHEENA! KEVIN! WELCOME BACK!"

"What the…?" They were totally dumbstruck. Everyone seemed to be happy and festive, throwing confetti and activating party poppers. Several people nearby picked them up and placed them on a platform with the word "HEROES!" inscribed on it. Two people at each of the four handles (for a total of eight people) lifted it up, forcing them to sit down and enjoy the ride. "Where are we going?" asked Sheena.

The people brought them back to the room with the Time-Space Axis; where Sheena always had to entertain tourists. She groaned as they activated the waterfall that played the legend of Damos and Arceus. Father recited the same exact story. Arceus stopped the meteor, Damos saved his life, blah blah blah blah blah. Why were they so eager to show her the story she knew so well?

The next few slides totally threw her for a loop.

Father narrated: "But on the day of the promise, Damos' underling Marcus tricked him and threw him in jail. He would have forced Damos to betray his promise to Arceus…but that day, two very special people came from the future. They were Sheena, who was Damos' descendant, and her best friend, Kevin." He then turned to them and asked, "You see? Those people were you, weren't they?"

Sheena and Kevin could only gape with shock. They forgot about how their actions in the past could totally revamp the future. "Y—ye—yeah…"

The story followed everything they did, right up to the point where they returned to the future. Apparently, everyone was waiting to welcome them home. Something still troubled Sheena, though. "But Father, if everyone's still here…does that mean there's another one of us too?"

He smiled. "Actually, there isn't. We've been waiting for you all this time. Welcome home…Sheena."

Overjoyed, Sheena hugged everyone, from her parents to her aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins to the little nieces and nephews and second cousins she hardly knew. All the inscriptions in the ruins totally changed too: A lot of them (written by Damos) described Sheena and Kevin and the challenges they faced. Everyone took them on a tour through Michina Town, which was even more beautiful than before. They explained their adventures to everyone in loving Shakespearean-quality detail and learned that Damos and friends took Sheena's environmental science lessons to heart and maintained the land's fertility with their own efforts. Finally, after all the hype died down, they retreated to their respective houses.

Sheena was surprised to see that her room was still recognizable, even though her family was using it as a storage shed and had to quickly clear everything out of it. There was no inscription hanging over her bed anymore. Kevin's parents, on the other hand, hand no idea that he, the famous Kevin, was their son. Since they didn't have a very big house (unlike Sheena's family), he was forced to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag.

It was the middle of the night. Sheena suddenly couldn't sleep anymore as the reality of the new time finally hit her. Feeling unsettled, she quietly slipped out of the mansion and headed for the bridge in the center of town where she always used to meet with Kevin back when they were little kids. Even though it was completely dark and there weren't many lights, she found her way easily enough, having memorized the way a long time ago. Luckily for her, despite the fact that they changed history, the town's layout hadn't changed at all. She stopped and held the railing of the bridge, staring up into the millions of stars in the sky.

A few minutes later, she heard Kevin's footsteps. Sheena wasn't sure whether she was surprised or expecting it. On one hand, it was pretty random, but on the other hand, it was just so right. The two of them were the only ones who had any memory of their lives before.

"Sheena?"

"Kevin?"

"Long day, huh?" he mentioned awkwardly.

"That was the longest day of my life, you know? Everything changed…" she sighed.

"I don't know about you, but I've never run that much in my life! Except for maybe that one time we played tag..." he said.

They laughed for a bit. But Kevin sighed as he contemplated the situation they were in. "Everything has changed. I mean, I know what they said about waiting for us, but I can still tell that no one **really** knows us anymore…"

Sheena agreed. "I know. It's funny. All my life, I wanted nothing more than to escape from this nonsense they threw on me, and now that it finally came true…they have no memory of doing all that to me anymore. So in the end…I feel like I still miss them…"

Kevin felt dismayed by Sheena's sadness. He needed to cheer her up. "But look at the bright side. You're free."

Her eyes widened as she realized this fact. "You mean…?"

"You don't have to monitor the Time-Space Axis anymore. You don't have to do everything they tell you anymore. You won't be blamed for anything anymore. And best of all, you can finally do whatever you want."

The horizon began to light up. Streaks of pink and orange slowly transformed the dark, starry sky. "I can do whatever I want?" whispered Sheena, almost afraid to believe it, as if it were all a dream that she just might wake up from. The moment was perfect; too perfect…she thought it just had to be a dream.

"Whatever it is that you always wanted to do. Go out there and make your dreams come true."

"But—but—I'm already twenty! They'll think I'm too old—"

"I'm twenty too. We're in the same boat! Don't worry," he chuckled. He then stared seriously and said, "Listen, Sheena. If you want me to, I'll always be there to help you. I promise."

Color began to saturate the sky, the trees, the grass, the river…all of Michina Town, the town where the two of them lived their entire lives. Though they had only ventured into the outside world a few times, this felt like the first time both of them would truly leave Michina Town forever.

She grasped his hand and said, "…Come on, Kevin. I want to help make your dreams come true too."

They turned and headed for the town's exit, first walking, then picking up speed, until they were finally running. The morning sun glistened on their faces with the promise of a new beginning. They already knew they had the same dream: Journey across the world as Pokémon trainers. They might've started ten years too late compared to most new Pokémon trainers…and they might not have had any Pokémon to start out with…but Sheena figured that with her ability to connect to their hearts, she would find her one true Pokémon friend somewhere out there. After all, if she could finally transcend her own limits and connect with Arceus' heart despite his wrath, what couldn't she do? Even if their families didn't know them anymore…Sheena and Kevin didn't need to tell them. They would still understand.

In midair, high above them, a blue and a pink portal opened in midair, and out came Dialga and Palkia from them, respectively. Giratina also emerged from a nearby lake. Though Sheena and Kevin were momentarily surprised, Dialga calmed them down by whispering to Sheena, "[Do not worry, little one. I know everything you have done in the past for Arceus…and I have told my brothers about it too. If you ever need us, we shall provide our assistance, no matter where you may go.]" Palkia and Giratina nodded in affirmation.

Tears glistened in Sheena's eyes as she realized that she and Kevin weren't the only ones who remembered everything. It meant so much to her. She shouted out to him in the loudest voice she could, "Thank you, Dialga!"

"[No, no. Thank you, little one. You have saved us all.]" And with that, the three of them returned to their home dimensions.

Sheena and Kevin took off running. The wind picked up. Bird Pokémon like Swablu, Taillow, Starly, and Pidgey flew up in the air. The world was out there for them to explore. True happiness awaited. And only then did Sheena realize that it was no dream. A genuine smile crept on her face for the first time in a very long time. Everything she ever dared to hope for, everything she ever wanted to do…it was all there, waiting for her. And Kevin would be there to help her every step of the way.

_Thank you, Damos. Thank you, Arceus. Thank you, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina! No matter what happens, I promise I'll never forget any of you. And thank you too, Kevin! Thanks to all of you, I'm free! I'm free! I'M…FINALLY…FREE!_

**The End!**


End file.
